Short Stories, Life and Love

Thinking on Paper – Author’s Note

How do you write? Do you put pen to paper, or tap away on the keyboard? Do you think on paper, or just write away?

I’ve been writing on paper mostly, myself. When writing for twitter, or just a short fic, sometimes I prefer to type away, rather than write physically and then commit it digitally. When typing and you want to edit, you can drag your words around, delete some, and do whatever you’d like. So why, when I really want to get down and write, do I always turn back to pen and paper?

My writing book – Isn’t it awesome?

Reason 1: Books are cool

I have to admit, as silly a reason as it is, this writing book is one of the main reasons I love to write. For anyone wondering, the book is called Grolier Ornamentali, from Paperblanks.

The book is lightweight, easy to carry, but just the right size for writing. I have smaller sized ones that feel like you write one word a page, and larger ones become heavier and not as easy to write on. Everything about the book feels right, from the soft-touch cover to the perfect-thickness papers, and it even comes with a ribbon bookmark. It just feels right to write in, and inspires me to write more.

Reason 2: It feels write

I know, that was a horrible pun, but it’s true. Writing on paper feels like writing, typing not so much. When writing, it’s sometimes useful to see the crossed out lines, the scribbles, and the flow of the letters. It’s great to be able to write a little note to the side, to remind yourself of something to add later. And most of all, when you put pen to paper, your ideas come to life; you could be struggling for an idea, or trying to solidify it in your mind, but when you write, it starts growing and changing and becoming real right before your eyes. That’s the beauty of writing on paper.

Reason 3: Thinking on paper

That last bit brings me to this final reason – thinking on paper. When I’m trying to find an idea – and struggling – the first thing I’ll do, is take things out of my mind, and put them on paper. If I’m creating a world based on flying pigs, my paper will look something like this

:

And suddenly, the idea fits together, and makes sense, and I’m ready to write!

Putting pen to paper brings my worlds and stories to life. How about yours?

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2 thoughts on “Thinking on Paper – Author’s Note”

I agree, there is something beautiful and tangible about writing on paper that you can’t duplicate on a screen. I do most of my writing digitally because I am a journalist and work on several projects at once that I need to type down and edit quickly. But when I really want to be slow, deliberate, and intentional with my words — like when I write journal entries or personal letters — I consciously turn to paper. It truly does “feel like writing” more than writing digitally.

Thanks a lot for your comment, it’s good to know what people are thinking about it too. I can understand how several projects at once would be like that, especially for your work. Luckily I’m only doing it for fun, so I can take it slow (though I’d love to become a professional author one day of course).